The Southport Party challenged the authority to put urgent measures in place to support businesses at last Wednesday’s Southport Area Committee meeting.

Party activist June Naylor spoke of members’ concern at the number of shops which have closed recently and urged Sefton to take action before it is too late for others.

Kew Ward representative Lib Dem Fred Weavers said councillors were well aware of the problem, and highlighted their recent fight against plans to increase the size of Tesco at Kew by a third. The scheme would have made the superstore three times the size of Asda on Derby Road.

The campaign has proved successful, with Tesco this week withdrawing its application.

Talks are now believed to be underway to try and entice the supermarket giant to take up the former Waitrose/Morrisons site on Tulketh Street, which politicians hope will help to bring more trade into the Wesley and Chapel Street areas of the town centre.

Ainsdale Conservative councillor Mark Bigley, town centre manager in Southport when the recession struck during the 1990s, says the council and local traders must work closer together to find ways of getting them through these tough times.

He said: “It takes two to tango, and it’s important for them to work in tandem.

“I was town centre manager in the 90s when there were a series of vacancies on Lord Street and Chapel Street, and unfortunately these things are cyclical.

“The local authority does need to invest in the town centre, it needs to ensure that the streets are kept clean, it needs to ensure that the town centre is easy to get into and accessible, and these are issues that will be addressed.

“But it is not just up to the council, the private sector must play its part as well.”

Birkdale Lib Dem councillor Iain Brodie Browne lamented the failure to implement a town centre Business Improvement District (BID) last year.

The scheme was just short of enough votes from local firms to become a reality, and would have seen them pay a proportion of their rates to invest in more street cleaning and security, as well as stage a number of events to lure shoppers.

The councillor sounded a positive note, however, when he said: “People who come to Southport are amazed by what we have here – schemes such as the £4million regeneration of Lord Street is not an insignificant thing.”

Meols Ward Lib Dem councillor David Tattersall said that while some trade landlords should now ‘examine their consciences’ over how much rents they charge, he added that Southport as a whole can be confident of surviving the storm thanks to cash brought in by conferences.

“We are all nostalgic for the bucket and spade brigade,” he said.

“But they have all gone to the Costa Del Sol.

“What we do have here, on the Promenade, is a conference hotel, and there has been a lot of work done on this strategy.

“When delegates are not sitting in their conference, they are staying in our town’s hotels, visiting the restaurants and bars, and going shopping.